


Candles Lighting Up the Icy Trees

by embroiderama



Category: White Collar
Genre: Established Relationship, Multi, Romance, Schmoop, Snow and Ice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 04:50:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/569299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embroiderama/pseuds/embroiderama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The power goes out during a snowstorm, and Neal spends the day, and night, with Peter and El in Brooklyn. Established relationship schmoop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Candles Lighting Up the Icy Trees

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elrhiarhodan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elrhiarhodan/gifts).



> This was written for [](http://elrhiarhodan.livejournal.com/profile)[**elrhiarhodan**](http://elrhiarhodan.livejournal.com/) and [](http://monkeyonthelam.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://monkeyonthelam.livejournal.com/)**monkeyonthelam** and everybody else in the northeast who's had to live without power and with bad weather in the last couple weeks. This isn't set during any of the real recent storms, just a random snowstorm. The title is from "Mortal City" by Dar Williams.
> 
> I'm not certain if it would be more realistic for either/both residence to have gas heat/cooking (or steam heat at June's?) that would work in a power outage but for schmoop-generating purposes I'm making it all electric.

"No," Peter said without preamble when he answered the phone on Friday morning, "we're not going in to work today. We don't have any hot cases, and none of us ought to be going out in this mess. But our power's out so I'm trying to conserve the battery on my phone. Are you okay there?"

Neal looked out the window at the snow falling outside, but near the window the cold was almost unbearable so he backed up and pulled his coat more tightly around himself. "Our power is out here, too. Or, well, mine. June took off for Florida as soon as they forecasted the snow. I was kind of looking forward to going into the office, to be honest. What if I just went in and worked on some files?"

"Are you really that bored? This isn't a good time to be planning something, Neal."

Neal heard whispering and a scuffle, then El was on the line. "Sweetie, you've got to come over. All those windows, it must be freezing in there! And I miss you. My husband may get to see you almost every day, but I haven't had my hands on you in _weeks_ , and that's far too long."

Neal felt a little warmer thinking about the last time they'd all been together, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. They'd had their own private party for three and then a long, lazy recovery. The taste of champagne on El's lips and Peter's hands in his hair. Long hours of skin against skin. Between Christmas and New Years, Neal hadn't felt so deeply loved or so thoroughly fucked in years. But then the White Collar division got busy, and El had a big, new client out of town, and the three of them hadn't been in the same place since January first.

The thought of traveling to Brooklyn wasn't particularly attractive. There were no cabs, and the subways were running but he'd have a walk on either end. However, the thought of being in Peter and Elizabeth's house was like a dream of warmth. Even without power, they had other houses buffering them on two sides. Their house had a working fireplace and no giant banks of windows; their house had Peter and Elizabeth and their own brand of warmth. Neal could stay at home and avoid the snow, be alone through a long, cold day and a colder night, or he could brave the weather to make it to the perfect port in a storm.

"Peter?" Neal asked, since El had been the only one to invite him.

"Bundle up," Peter said. "I'm sorry I didn't think about the windows. I didn't want you out in this weather, but if you're going to be cold either way you ought to give us the chance to warm you up."

"I'm looking forward to that." Neal walked over to his closet to find the warmest thing to wear. "Anything you want me to bring?"

"You." Neal could hear the smile in Peter's voice, and he let that insulate him from the cold as he hung up and changed into thick jeans, a turtleneck, two sweaters, his warmest coat and heaviest boots. He gathered up some fresh clothes and the toiletries he'd need for a day or two then slipped a good bottle of wine in his messenger bag and headed out to brave the weather.

~~~

If Neal ignored the cold, his walk was beautiful. He knew it wouldn't last, that by the next day there would be mountains of black and gray snow piled on the street corners, half-frozen lakes in the intersections, slick slushy stairs and dirty floors. But right then, while the snow was still falling under the dove gray sky, the sidewalks were white and clean and the snow decorated trees and windows, walls and cars. The city even smelled cleaner as he breathed in the crisp scent of it. The subway ride was as dismal as ever but he warmed up out of the wind, and when he came out on the other side he was just a short walk away from the Burkes. By the time he climbed the stairs to their front door, his feet were soaked and frozen, his cheeks felt tender and raw, and the rest of him was chilled by the bite of the wind through fabric.

And it was all worth it when the door opened and Elizabeth drew him inside, into her arms and the flickering light and heady warmth cast off by the fireplace. Peter came around behind Neal, put his arms around the both of them, and Neal was enclosed in a circle of arms and chests and hips, their breath warming his ears and his cheeks. El squeezed him tight then let go and crouched down at Neal's feet.

"Off with these wet boots, come on." She prodded until Neal lifted one foot and then the other as he leaned into Peter's arms. El tugged off his boots and peeled off his damp socks, then stuffed his feet into--Neal looked down--fuzzy slippers.

"Really?"

"My mother bought them for Peter but they're a size too small for him. Perfect for you."

In short order, Neal was stripped of his coat and clothes and dressed in bulky sweats that clearly belonged to Peter. "I did bring clothes, you know," Neal protested half-heartedly.

Peter grinned and tugged Neal closer by the loose fabric of the sweatshirt. "I like you in my clothes," he said, voice low and promising.

Neal grinned. “I thought you liked me in no clothes at all.”

“I do.” Peter slipped his hands under the waistband of Neal’s sweatpants and cupped his amazingly warm hands over the curve of Neal’s ass. “But not when it’s this cold. I’m sure it feels good in here to you now, and the fire is helping, but we’re staying pretty bundled up.” When Peter pulled Neal in closer and kissed him, his mouth tasted like coffee and chocolate.

“Mmm, you have a camp stove?”

“We do,” El said, and Neal looked around Peter to see her walking over with a mug in her hands.

Peter let Neal go, and they all walked over to sit on the couch, which had been moved around to face the fire place. Neal took a sip of the drink in his hands and closed his eyes at the sweet taste and heat of it. “What _is_ this?”

El smiled smugly. “My special hot toddy. Milk and real cocoa with Kahlua and Baileys, since none of us are going anywhere anyway.”

Neal took another sip, savoring the flavors and letting the alcohol soften the edges of everything just a little. “You’re a genius.” He leaned over and kissed her. “I’ll thank you better later on.”

“I’ll hold you to it.” She laughed, and Neal was overwhelmed with gratitude that he didn't have to spend the day and night alone in his cold apartment.

When Neal was done with his hot chocolate, he and Peter ventured up to the very cold bedroom to bring down the king-size mattress. El followed with a pile of comforters, quilts and blankets, and when they finished moving furniture around they were left with a comfortable nest in front of the fire, a home base for riding out the snow and the power outage. The usual distractions were all unavailable—no TV, not enough juice left in the laptops for watching DVDs, and nobody was willing to drain their phone batteries using data—and after snacking on food that didn’t need to be cooked they all curled up under the covers and napped into the early afternoon.

It was strangely non-sexual, given the way they usually spent their time together, but they had neither enough wood to maintain a roaring fire nor the right kind of fireplace setup to let it burn high while they slept. Any slip of the blankets let in air that was too cold for naked skin, so they slept in their sweats and socks and fuzzy fleece. They kept their hands warm against each other’s skin and Satchmo curled up at the bottom of the mattress and kept their feet warm.

None of them wanted to venture far from the bed. Leaving their spot meant going outside to let Satch out and get more wood or going upstairs to take turns in the terribly cold bathroom. Neal really, really hoped that the power came back on before any of them started contemplating cold showers. When they were all slept out for a while, El called around until she found a pizza place a few blocks away that had power and was willing to deliver once she promised to tip generously, saving them all from canned soup heated on the camp stove.

When the delivery kid had come and gone, looking significantly less miserable with the tip in his pocket, they sat cross-legged in their nest, washing down pepperoni and mushroom pizza with glasses of red wine until the boxes and bottles were empty. Peter refused to play cards with Neal, so El dug an old Trivial Pursuit game out of the closet and they played by lantern light. They laughed over the out-of-date 80’s trivia, and by the time the lantern’s batteries began to dim nobody was sure who had been closer to winning. El made another batch of her spiked hot cocoa, and when they were all warm inside and out they pulled back their layers of clothing and made their own heat.

They all woke in the early morning to the shock of the power coming back on—lights suddenly bright, the refrigerator humming aggressively, the furnace coming to life in the basement below them. After Satchmo came back inside from a celebratory outing, they cranked up the heat, turned off the lights, and sank back into the bed to sleep a little longer next to the dying fire. When Neal woke again, he was alone in the bed, over-warm and weighed down under a mountain of fabric.

Then he rolled over and saw that he wasn’t so alone; El and Peter were sitting on the couch drinking coffee and watching him. “Was I doing something weird in my sleep?” Neal wiped his hand over his face.

“I like watching you sleep,” Peter said, a fond smile on his face that made Neal feel warmer than the blankets had.

“We love having you here,” El added. “And I’m glad you’re awake because I have a frittata that just finished up in the oven. I hope you’re hungry.”

“Starving.” Neal stood up and stretched then went upstairs to clean up in the now much warmer bathroom. He paused at the front door when he came back downstairs and stood looking outside. The gray sky of the day before had given way to nearly cloudless blue. The street was already clear of snow, and it was melting from the sidewalks and the tops of cars. This was a different kind of beauty from the crystalline clean of the snowfall, and Neal knew that when he eventually left the house and had to deal with the icy puddles and slush-slick stairs he’d have a harder time seeing that beauty.

But it was Saturday morning, and real life could wait another day or two. He wasn't quite sure if what he had with Peter and Elizabeth would last or if he'd melt out of their lives when the seasons inevitably changed, but if his life hadn't quite taught him to trust love he knew enough to treasure it. Neal heard footsteps and then Peter's arms were around him, holding as much as hugging, warm and tight as if he knew Neal was thinking about life out in the cold.

El came over to join them and looked outside then back at Neal. "Anything interesting out there?"

"No," Neal answered, his voice rougher than he'd expected. "I just thought there was."

El led the both of them to the table, and there was no need to think about the snow or anything else beyond their four walls. No need at all.


End file.
